


paint my feelings on the ceiling

by marcel



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chinguline, Kissing, M/M, video games!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 10:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12033894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcel/pseuds/marcel
Summary: Chanyeol moves home from college and is elated to finally have time for video games again. Cute Gamestop cashier Kyungsoo definitely has nothing to do with it.





	paint my feelings on the ceiling

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to fuck u eb games: the novel. i worked at the canadian equivalent of gamestop for a year and a half and while most of it was a great time i also wanted to die towards the end so writing this was supposed to be therapeutic and then i got Summer Depression(tm) so thats why i only finished now.  
> also: i started this in like march so that's why they talk about destiny2 like it's not out yet SORRy. i'll put links abt all the different games they play in the end notes!

Taking the bus isn't so bad, Chanyeol decides, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't rather have his car than the thinly-lined metal-backed row of chairs at the back of this bus.

His car is currently being driven by his mom though, since hers is in the shop. Chanyeol managed to get all his things moved from his college dorm to his new apartment yesterday, so lending her his car was only as inconvenient as the price of a bus ticket. Now that he's moved from campus back to the city, Chanyeol is finding that nothing much gets in the way of his end-of-term high, even the fifteen-minute walk from his parent's house to the closest bus stop.

It's certainly not as gross as Baekhyun makes it out to be every time he's asking Chanyeol for a ride somewhere to avoid taking the bus. It goes through the center of town, so it's nice to look out the window at all the vaguely familiar landmarks they pass. Besides, he gets his car back tomorrow, and he has just one exam left next week and then he can relax forever. He left his PS4 unplugged for the past two weeks to focus on finals, so he has a lot of things to catch up on.

The bus rattles to a stop at a red light then jerks forward when it turns green, jostling the passengers a little. A water bottle rolls across the floor and knocks lightly against Chanyeol's foot. He turns away from the window and bends to pick it up before it rolls all the way down the aisle.

"Ah, sorry." Across from him there's a boy with a backpack at his feet, one hand on the half-closed zipper and his eyes on the bottle. He glances at Chanyeol through thick-framed glasses with a tiny sheepish smile. "Thanks for grabbing it," he says, holding his hand out.

"No problem," Chanyeol says easily, leaning over to pass it to him. His eyes are drawn to a flash of colour on the boy's outstretched wrist - a simple rubber bracelet stamped with the white and orange _Overwatch_ logo.

Does he play? With a little swell of excitement, Chanyeol gives the boy a once-over, and then a twice-over while he's looking down to put the water bottle back in his bag. He's cute. Cute and a gamer, and not just a _COD_ bro - a niche hard to come by, in Chanyeol's experience. He hesitates for a moment before speaking up.

"Xbox or PS4?"

The boy looks up, blinking at him. "Sorry?"

"For _Overwatch_." Chanyeol gestures to the bracelet, and the boy looks down at it like he's seeing it for the first time. "Do you play?"

"Oh. Uh, no," the boy says, twisting it around on his wrist. "I got this at work."

"Ah. Cool." A little disappointing, but he's still cute. Chanyeol is about to take the real flirting plunge and ask where he works, but the next stop chime cuts him off, and the boy picks up his bag and heads to the door.

"Thanks again," he says, giving Chanyeol another small smile while the bus slows to a stop. Chanyeol just has time to lift his hand in a wave before the doors fold open and the boy hops out.

Sighing a little, Chanyeol cuts his losses and leans back to look out the window again. As the bus is pulling away, he realizes the stop is in the tiny bus loop beside the local outlet mall. He's pretty sure his mom's hairdresser is in there somewhere, and - speaking of _Overwatch_ \- there might be a Gamestop, too. Now that Chanyeol is living in town again, he could pick up a couple games he missed out on in the last couple months of school. Plus there's some preorders he wanted to make, and he should probably renew his Playstation membership.

He makes a mental note to stop in once he has his car back, and settles back against his seat to wait out the rest of the bus ride.

\--

A couple days later, when all his boxes are unpacked and he's settled into his apartment, Chanyeol drives himself out to the mall and parks outside the Gamestop. The lot is pretty empty for a weekend, and inside the store there's only a couple customers by the counter. Chanyeol heads to the Sony section in the corner to look around.

There's a few shelves of used games, some red-stickered cases promoting a sale, and a header for new releases that Chanyeol stops in front of. He lingers over _Mass Effect: Andromeda_ for a few seconds before deciding to reward himself - he didn't suffer through three months of 8 A.M. lectures for nothing, after all. The customers at the front have left by now, so he grabs a _Mass Effect_ display case and brings it up to the counter.

"You find everything alright?" the cashier asks while Chanyeol digs his wallet out.

"Yeah, just this and--" He looks up and chokes on his next word. On the other side of the counter, the cashier blinks at him from behind familiar glasses. "It's-- I know you!"

"Oh." The boy squints at him a little. "From the… bus, right?"

Chanyeol nods, pleased that he remembered him. "You work here?"

"Looks like it," the boy says. He scans the _Mass Effect_ case and types something in, giving Chanyeol just enough time to sneak a glance at the nametag on the lanyard around his neck - KYUNGSOO, with a sparkly Yoshi sticker underneath - before he turns around to grab a shrinkwrapped copy from the shelf behind the counter. "Do you have an Edge account?"

Chanyeol rattles off his phone number and Kyungsoo types it in without looking at the keyboard. "You're… Chanyeol?"

"That's me," Chanyeol says, grinning. Kyungsoo glances up at him and back down with a little smile.

"What else did you need?"

It takes Chanyeol a second to remember. "Uh, a preorder. _Destiny 2_."

"Alright." Kyungsoo clicks a few times and types something else. "With that you get a beta code."

"Oh. Sweet."

"You also get this," Kyungsoo says, moving off to grab a palm-sized box from a small stack on the side counter. "A mini figurine of… some character from the game, I'm not sure who."

Chanyeol snickers as he pulls out his credit card. "So you don't play _Destiny_ either, I'm guessing?"

"I don't play much of anything," Kyungsoo admits, passing the card machine over the counter. "I haven't bought a video game in like, ten years at least."

"What?" Chanyeol laughs. "But you work _here_. Don't you get awesome perks or discounts or something?"

Kyungsoo gives him a wry smile. "Mr Gamestop doesn't care that much."

"Do you get to try new releases, or anything?" Chanyeol asks, taking his card when the machine beeps and handing it back. "I know you guys used to have consoles set up around the store. Those were great."

"Yeah, I totally loved being a free babysitting service," Kyungsoo says dryly. "People just dropped their kids off and left to get coffee, like--" He pauses suddenly, leaning over the counter to glance around the store. "There's no one in here, right?"

Chanyeol laughs. "I think you're fine," he says, looking around - it seems like the store is empty but for him and Kyungsoo.

"Anyway," Kyungsoo sighs, but he's smiling again. "It's not so bad. I have enough people skills to get by without actually playing any of the games we sell."

"I guess you don't have to worry about spending all your paycheques here, either. I definitely would," Chanyeol muses.

"It's a nice plus," Kyungsoo agrees, tapping at the keyboard until a receipt prints out. "You want a bag?"

Chanyeol shakes his head and takes his game and receipt, smiling gratefully when Kyungsoo hands him the figurine. "Thank you. The game comes out in September, right?"

"It's supposed to. The beta should start later this summer. We'll probably run out of the figures way before that," Kyungsoo says, glancing at the boxes on the counter. "We're down to our last few."

"You think so?" Chanyeol frowns, folding the receipt into his pocket. "I have a couple friends who're thinking about preordering, they'll probably want them. Will you still have them on Monday?"

"Probably not. I think some people are only preordering to get the figure."

Chanyeol shrugs. "It's no big deal if you run out. I'll tell my friends to hurry and make up their minds." He steps back from the counter, trying to quell the urge to linger. Kyungsoo probably has work to do, and he doesn't want to be recanted to his coworkers as the weird customer who stayed too long. "I'll, uh, see you around, I guess?"

"Sure," Kyungsoo says, pushing up his glasses and giving him one more smile. "See you around."

Chanyeol smiles back, very nearly pulls the push-to-open door, and tries his best not to trip over his suddenly jittery legs on the way back to his car.

\--

Not even twenty-four hours later, Chanyeol pulls back into the same parking spot and yawns as he climbs out. It's earlier than he was planning to be awake, but his friends are unfortunately both noisy and insistent.

"See, I told you it would be deserted," Jongdae says, shutting the passenger side door. "I don't know why you were so worried."

"Chanyeol's the one who said we had to rush," Baekhyun complains as he slides out of the backseat.

"I did not," Chanyeol says around another yawn. "I said if you wanted to get the preorder bonus, you had to go soon. I meant within the next couple days, not as soon as they open."

"Well, we're here now," Baekhyun sniffs, starting towards the Gamestop storefront. "Nothing wrong with being eager for the opportunity to get free shit, okay."

Jongdae snorts but follows him inside, and Chanyeol trails behind them, a little anxious. Is it weird to go to the same store two days in a row? He's sure there are other customers who do, but he's hardly a _regular_ , or anything. He just doesn't want Kyungsoo to think he's being creepy for showing up again - that is, if Kyungsoo is even working today.

When he hazards a glance behind the counter, Kyungsoo is nowhere to be seen. The cashier is someone a little taller, glasses-less, with dimples that stand out when he smiles at the customer approaching the counter. Chanyeol lets out a sigh, not sure if he's relieved or disappointed, and follows Baekhyun and Jongdae to the Nintendo section where they're both whisper-screaming by the Amiibos.

"They had a stack of the _Destiny_ figures behind the counter yesterday, but I don't see any now," he tells them. "Sorry, guys."

"It's not the end of the world," Baekhyun says, picking up three different Links and examining them closely. "Maybe another store has some."

Jongdae looks up from the stack of Zeldas on the shelf with a frown. "Worst case scenario, you can get one on Ebay for fifty bucks."

" _Fifty_ \--" Baekhyun makes a face. "It's like four inches tall! People are the worst."

Chanyeol tunes them out, wandering over to the shelves of 3DS games. He doesn't use his 3DS for much more than _Pokémon_ , but the new _Fire Emblem_ looks cool. He hopes Baekhyun and Jongdae don't take too long, or else he's going to end up buying another game and his poor credit card deserves better--

"Chanyeol?" Startling, he turns around and there's Kyungsoo, only a few feet away with his hands full of green Xbox cases. He smiles, eyebrows raising. "That didn't take long."

"Yeah, well," Chanyeol says, trying to hold back the grin that threatens to take over his face. He shrugs in his friends' direction, where they're still fawning over Amiibos. "They really wanted the figurine."

"I guess it was a bigger deal than you thought," Kyungsoo says with a snicker. "Let me put these down and I'll help you at the front."

Chanyeol tries his best not to beam like an idiot as he follows Kyungsoo over to the counter, but Kyungsoo remembered his name, and even just the thought makes his lips twitch.

"How's _Mass Effect_?" Kyungsoo asks, dropping the cases on the side counter and straightening them out. "Have you had a chance to try it yet?"

"Not really. I spent like an hour making my character last night, but I didn't get very far into the actual game," Chanyeol admits. "It looks good already, though. It's nice to finally have it on PS4 after the first three. To be honest, I'm sort of glad I waited this long to pick it up, with all the patches Bioware's been doing."

He pauses for breath and realizes, by Kyungsoo's bewildered expression, that he's been rambling. He probably has no idea what Chanyeol is even talking about. "Sorry," Chanyeol mumbles, sheepish.

"I don't mind," Kyungsoo insists, blinking at him. "The more I hear about it, the easier it is to talk to people about it. I've never played any of these things, remember?" He says it with a little smile as he heads over to the till.

Chanyeol manages a smile back, amazed that Kyungsoo was even listening. Before he can say anything else, Baekhyun and Jongdae bound over to join him at the counter.

"Baek is done comparing the paint jobs of every Amiibo on the floor now," Jongdae sighs, as he and Baekhyun both place their carefully selected Amiibos on the counter. "Why are you buying it? You don't even have a Switch."

"Neither do you," Baekhyun throws back.

Jongdae sticks his tongue out at him. "But Junmyeon does."

Kyungsoo gives Chanyeol an amused look. "Is that all today, besides the preorders?"

"I think they both just wanted the mini figure," Chanyeol admits. "You guys ran out though, right?"

After taking a quick glance around the store, Kyungsoo turns and opens a cabinet behind the counter. To Chanyeol's surprise, he pulls out two figurine boxes and places them on the counter.

At the second till, the other cashier, the one with the dimples, looks over and frowns. "Where did you find those? I thought we ran out."

"We did," Kyungsoo says, glancing at Chanyeol with a mischievous smile. "Just now."

Chanyeol flushes red. Kyungsoo looks away to ring up Baekhyun and Jongdae's purchases, so Chanyeol just stares after him for a long moment until Jongdae gives him a nudge towards the door.

"We're good to go," he says, holding up a Gamestop bag. "You're done, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Chanyeol coughs. He risks a peek at Kyungsoo and finds him already looking over, which makes his face feel hot all over again. He gives him a tiny wave and the least-manic smile he can manage before following his friends outside.

"--fifty damn dollars," Baekhyun is saying, when Chanyeol shakes himself and tunes back in. He's turning the figurine box over in his hands somewhat protectively. "That's such garbage."

Jongdae turns to grin at Chanyeol. "Thanks for that, though, seriously."

Chanyeol gives him a puzzled look. "For what?"

"You asked yesterday for them to keep two of these aside, didn't you?" Jongdae says, brandishing his own figurine, but Chanyeol shakes his head.

"No, I just mentioned you guys might want them. But I said you probably wouldn't come in until Monday."

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. "Really? Huh." He twirls his bag around on one finger as they approach the car. "Maybe the employees are just really nice there."

"Yeah," Chanyeol says, thinking of Kyungsoo's lips curling around his tiny smile. "Probably."

\--

That night, Chanyeol manages a couple hours of dedicated studying before Jongdae starts texting him Hanzo memes and he willfully abandons his review notes in favour of grabbing his headset and starting up _Overwatch_. Seeing _thunderboy_ and _byunbaek_ 's users pop up makes him grin in spite of himself. They hadn't been able to play together much in the last few weeks of school, final exams taking a toll on all three of them, so it's nice to get back into it.

But of course, because his friends are the worst, the peace can't last.

"I keep getting killed before I can ult," Jongdae whines when the match ends. "Baek, you're supposed to back me up."

"Their Tracer was on me the whole time," Baekhyun huffs, then gives a dramatic sigh that immediately raises Chanyeol's suspicions. "I guess I'm distracted."

Jongdae snorts. "By what? I could've put the controller down and left to get Junmyeon from work, and I still would've been in the fray more than you."

"If you must know," Baekhyun sighs as the next match lobby loads up, "I keep thinking about that guy at the game store."

"Which one? With the glasses or the nice smile?"

"Uh, both? Now that you mention it, glasses looked like he could probably bench press me, which, _unf_ \--"

"Don't be gross," Chanyeol says, grimacing at his screen as the new match starts.

"I'm kidding," Baekhyun laughs, his D.Va jumping in circles around Chanyeol's Bastion before zooming away. "You're friends with that guy, right? What's his name again?"

"Kyungsoo, and that's the third time you've asked," Chanyeol grumbles, following behind. "You're not very good at being subtle."

"Oh, we're not trying to be subtle," Jongdae says, zipping past him as Lùcio. "We're trying to segue into a conversation about the literal heart eyes you were sending him over the counter."

Chanyeol feels himself blush, suddenly glad that his friends can't see his face on chat. "I was _not_ ," he huffs, but it comes out a little weak.

"There's no harm in being interested," Baekhyun teases. "You should ask him out."

"I-- What?" Chanyeol forces a laugh. "No way, I can't."

"Why not?" Jongdae asks, reappearing beside him to dodge enemy fire. "School's over, and I know for a fact you don't have anything better to fill your time with."

"Except this," Baekhyun adds. "Also, heal me."

Chanyeol sighs, leading the way through the map. "I don't know. What if he already has a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or--"

"He doesn't," Jongdae says, and Chanyeol very nearly walks right into a turret.

"H-how do you know?"

"I've asked him," Jongdae says, like it's obvious. "He and Junmyeon went to high school together, so he comes to movie night sometimes." He runs up the wall and blows the turret to bits before Chanyeol can even take aim. "And he's a chatty drunk. Did I not mention this before?"

"Wait, why does Kyungsoo get to go to movie night?" Baekhyun asks. "I thought those were like date nights for you and Junmyeon, and that's why you never invite me."

"I never invite you because you almost put your foot through the screen when we watched _Alien_."

"Hey, that was only-- good _fucking_ god, can one of you get this Genji shitlord, please?"

Chanyeol does, blasting him away from D.Va and off the edge of the map. "The point is," he sighs over Baekhyun's grumbling, "even if Kyungsoo isn't dating anyone, I've only talked to him a couple times. I'm just some guy, a customer."

Jongdae hums over the chat while he pauses to heal Baekhyun. "Tell you what, I've been thinking of having an end-of-term homecoming get-together thing. How 'bout on Friday you guys come over for a _Smash Bros_ tournament or something, and I'll ask Junmyeon to invite Kyungsoo?" Lùcio spins in a few circles, dancing in and out of Chanyeol's line of sight. "You can talk to him without a checkout counter in between."

"Plus you can wow him on the Final Destination stage," Baekhyun chimes in. "He'll see that you're definitely not _just some guy_."

Biting his lip, Chanyeol takes a deep breath and tries his best to push his slowly rising hopes back down. "Alright," he agrees, mostly because he doesn't have an excuse not to - and he has to admit, he really would like to see Kyungsoo again and talk to him like a regular person. Maybe they could be friends.

He's dragged out of his thoughts when Baekhyun swears loudly again, and another enemy Genji takes his full focus until he can hardly remember what the three of them were talking about.

\--

Jongdae doesn't let him forget about their party plans, even though Chanyeol spends Friday morning writing his _final_ final exam (Jongdae's _good luck!!_ text immediately followed by an _also, bring nachos_ one), but Chanyeol sure does forget about the Kyungsoo factor until he's halfway through the door and sees him sitting on Jongdae's couch, glasses and all. Then it hits him like a ton of bricks.

He swallows past the nervous lump in his throat, hands off the nachos to Baekhyun, and reminds himself to act natural before heading over. It's enough of a feat that he doesn't trip on the way, and even more impressive that he manages not to grin like a maniac when Kyungsoo glances up at him.

"Hey, good to see you!" Junmyeon greets, standing up from the other end of the couch to beckon him to sit down. "I heard you had an exam earlier, how'd it go?"

"It was, uh," Chanyeol says, faltering when he realizes the seat being offered is right next to Kyungsoo. "It… happened."

Junmyeon puzzledly follows his gaze, then seems to catch on. "Oh, sorry, have you guys been introduced? Chanyeol, this is Kyungsoo."

"We've met," Kyungsoo says, smiling up at Chanyeol. Chanyeol smiles back and tries to wrangle in the giddiness suddenly bubbling up in his chest.

He's all but shoved down onto the couch when Baekhyun and Jongdae bustle back into the room and crowd around the TV, triumphant theme music blaring to life. "Socializing is over, it's time to Smash," Baekhyun announces, doling out controllers. "Five-player tournament, three lives, no items. Winner doesn't have to pay me back for pizza."

"I'm alright," Kyungsoo says, pushing the controller away.

"You don't like _Smash Bros_?" Baekhyun asks, incredulous. "But look, Kirby is practically begging you to play!"

"No one's allowed to be Kirby except me," Junmyeon says, selecting his character before anyone else can. "House rules."

"Come on," Baekhyun wheedles, pouting at Kyungsoo just a little. "We can make teams if you want, do a warm-up round?" And then, ever the wingman: "Chanyeol will partner with you."

Chanyeol isn't sure if he wants to thank or throttle him. He does his best to look confident when Kyungsoo glances over.

"Fine," Kyungsoo says eventually, picking up the controller and sighing at the screen. "One round."

"One round if you lose," Baekhyun clarifies, flopping down on the floor. "Who's on Junmyeon's team?"

"Dibs," Jongdae says from the armchair that he and Junmyeon have squeezed into together. "Pikachu or Link, babe?"

Junmyeon hums, his head on Jongdae's shoulder. "Do you want to give them a chance or not?"

"Pikachu it is."

Chanyeol looks back at Kyungsoo, who's still squinting at the character select screen. "You've played _Smash_ before, right?" he asks, dragging his own cursor over to Samus.

"Not really," Kyungsoo admits easily. "Maybe once or twice, but I don't really remember what the buttons do." He finally picks Yoshi - Chanyeol wonders if it's his favourite character, or just the only one that looks familiar - and leans back against the couch with his eyebrows raised. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Chanyeol says quickly, hands suddenly sweaty on his controller. "I mean, against the lovebirds, we're gonna get decimated either way. They have some weird telepathy thing going on."

Kyungsoo snorts. "Well, let's go out fighting, at least. I'll try my best to figure out the punch button."

"That's the spirit," Chanyeol laughs. He watches the loading screen reflected in Kyungsoo's glasses until the match starts, then tears his gaze away to focus on the fight.

They lose horribly, as expected, but Kyungsoo doesn't seem bothered. He's actually smiling by the end of it, and high-fives Chanyeol over their shared failure. He doesn't even try to give his controller back afterwards, and Baekhyun quickly sets up the tournament before he can try to back out.

At some point during the first battle, while Baekhyun is insisting that Fox would beat Link in a _real_ fight, Kyungsoo shifts closer. It's probably thoughtless, bringing his feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch, but his knee presses against Chanyeol's thigh, just gently enough to steal his attention. The heat of it distracts Chanyeol so much that he loses his first round, but he can't bring himself to mind the embarrassing defeat, not when it makes Kyungsoo smile and laugh and lean into him just a little. Chanyeol hardly dares to breathe in case it makes him move away, but by the end of the tournament when Junmyeon is crowned reigning Smash Bros champ, Kyungsoo's leg is still pressed close to his own. 

It's only when Baekhyun starts yawning and paws at Chanyeol for a ride home that he reluctantly breaks the contact - but when he stands up Kyungsoo follows, giving him a sheepish look.

"Could I get a ride too?" he asks, a little shyly. "The bus schedule kind of sucks sometimes."

"I-- uh, yeah, no problem," Chanyeol says, feeling far more pleased than the situation really warrants.

He bites back a grin while Jongdae bustles them all out the door, holding it in all the way down to the parking lot. Baekhyun doesn't call shotgun as soon as his car is in sight, which is a little suspicious, but at Chanyeol's raised eyebrow he just winks and ducks into the backseat. Chanyeol is pretty sure he's migrating into throttling territory, but then Kyungsoo is sliding into the passenger seat beside him, and he's suddenly preoccupied with keeping his eyes on the road instead of letting them wander.

It's only a short drive to drop Baekhyun off. Chanyeol waits until he's waved at them from the front door before pulling out of the driveway. Now that they're alone in the car, he takes a quick glance at Kyungsoo, trying to gauge his openness to conversation - but his motormouth decides to just go for it.

"He's probably going to stay up all night playing _League_ now," he sighs, a bit of real long-suffering seeping into what he hopes is a casual tone.

Kyungsoo quirks an eyebrow. "Do you play that, too? On PC?"

Chanyeol shakes his head. "Nah, just Baek. I've been on console for so long I don't think I could switch over to PC."

"Even if it is the 'master race', or whatever customers keep telling me?" Kyungsoo says, smirking as he provides air-quotes.

"Ugh, I know," Chanyeol sighs again, "but rebuying all my games would be _brutal_. I already have enough credit card debt."

"I guess it depends how many games you have."

"Oh god, _so_ many. Like, I had to sneak boxes out of my house when I was moving, so my mom wouldn't see them and judge me."

Kyungsoo snorts, turning to him with an amused smile. "I think you're exaggerating."

"I swear I'm not," Chanyeol laughs, then, before he can change his mind - "I could show you, if you want?"

He steels himself for the invitation to be brushed off, but instead Kyungsoo hums interestedly. "Sure, if you've got time."

The giddy excitement from before returns with such force that Chanyeol almost misses the next turn, and drives the rest of the way to his apartment trying to hide a grin. The closer they get to his front door, though, the more it's replaced by fluttery nervousness. He tries his best not to look as anxious as he feels while he unlocks the door with sweaty hands and lets Kyungsoo inside.

After toeing off his shoes, Kyungsoo wanders into the living room and takes in Chanyeol's TV-PS4-soundbar-etcetera set-up with a low whistle. Chanyeol follows close behind, wringing his hands to keep from giving in to the urge to tidy up. Kyungsoo's gaze doesn't seem critical though, and he looks back at Chanyeol with a smile. "It's neater than I imagined."

Chanyeol can't help a relieved laugh. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing bad, I just pictured more wires everywhere. I don't actually know how to connect a console to a television," Kyungsoo admits, then turns to look at the cabinet shelves stacked with rows and rows of game cases. "Jeez, it's like I'm back at work."

"If you think this is bad, you should see Junmyeon's collection," Chanyeol scoffs.

"Oh, I have," Kyungsoo says with a sage nod. "We have an agreement where he buys me coffee if I hold _Pokémon_ games for him when we get them traded in." He sits down on the couch and picks up the _Mass Effect_ case lying open on the coffee table. "Is this what you're playing right now?"

"Yeah, I finally got past the character creator," Chanyeol says, moving to sit down beside him. He feels the familiar urge to flap his hands around in nervousness, and hides it by picking up the PS4 controller he'd left on the center cushion. "You wanna see? I'm totally handsome."

After an exaggerated eye-roll, Kyungsoo agrees, and Chanyeol powers up the game feeling more than a little relieved. This is something he knows how to talk about, at least.

Kyungsoo does eventually admit that his Ryder is pretty handsome, if not a little uncanny-valley. Chanyeol runs around the ship, showing off all the alien NPCs and pointing out the romance-able ones, then starts an actual mission, and when he hits pause to answer a text from Jongdae, he realizes it's been more than an hour.

"Already?" Kyungsoo says, jumping up from the couch. "Wow, sorry, I really didn't mean to stay so long."

"It's no problem, I should have paid more attention," Chanyeol says, rubbing the back of his neck. He follows Kyungsoo to the door and grabs his car keys before shoving his feet back into his shoes. "Sorry if it was boring, just watching me play--"

"No, it was fun," Kyungsoo cuts him off, smiling at him as he shrugs his jacket on. "I like watching, it's less work."

Chanyeol isn't entirely convinced. "Next time, I'll find something two-player," he insists. 

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at him. "Next time?"

"I-I mean," Chanyeol stutters, face flushing, "if you want to- to do this again, or-- some time, you know--"

"Sure," Kyungsoo says, easy as anything. "Monday I'm off at four."

Chanyeol spends a long moment just staring at him, before Kyungsoo glances up and he realizes he hasn't said anything. "Yeah! Yes, that's- that sounds good. I'll, uh, pick you up?" 

Nodding, Kyungsoo opens the door and steps out into the hall. Chanyeol spends a few seconds trying to determine if he's stunned or pleased - then Kyungsoo ducks back inside, adjusting his glasses over a confused look. "Coming?"

Pleasantly stunned it is, Chanyeol decides, and follows him out with a barely-hidden grin.

\--

On Monday, Chanyeol pulls into the mall parking lot at exactly four PM, but takes enough time scrutinizing his hair in the rearview mirror that by the time he actually enters the Gamestop, it's a few minutes past. There are enough customers milling around that he feels weird about wandering through the store to look for Kyungsoo, so he stays near the doors and hopes his height will be enough of a beacon.

There's a shelf of 360 games along the closest wall and Chanyeol paws through a few cases, half-heartedly searching for two-player titles. Before he left his apartment, he had rifled through his cabinet for all his multiplayer games and spent close to half an hour narrowing it down to a small stack for Kyungsoo to choose from. At this point though, he'd probably play just about anything if Kyungsoo wanted to, so in hindsight it might be a wasted effort--

"Can I help you?" a voice says from behind him, and Chanyeol very nearly drops the _Portal 2_ case he had paused on. He whirls around to face a shorter man, with a lanyard like Kyungsoo's adorned with pins - his nametag reads MINSEOK with a tiny cat drawn underneath. Once he sees Chanyeol's face, his friendly expression is replaced by a flat one. "Oh, you're here for Kyungsoo, right?"

"Uh," Chanyeol says, fumbling to put the game back on the shelf. "Yes?" He isn't sure how he feels about the knowing look Minseok gives him. "He's here, right?"

Minseok waves his hand in a vague direction. "He's just helping someone find a game, shouldn't be too long." He turns to straighten out the nearest display, keeping his eyes on Chanyeol. "You know, I'm surprised. Usually he hates when customers hit on him."

"I'm not hitting on him," Chanyeol says quickly, then, as casually as he can manage, "Does that, uh, happen often?"

"Oh yeah, at least once a week," Minseok sighs. "People must be really into the shy-boy-with-glasses thing, or maybe they like being glared at? Either way, I've never seen anyone shut down casual flirting as fast as Kyungsoo does." Satisfied with the display, the turns back to Chanyeol and looks him up and down. "I guess you're different."

"I said I'm not-- what does that even mean?" Chanyeol splutters, but Minseok is already across the store talking to a different customer, leaving him alone and more than a little confused.

He shakes his head and turns to wander around, considering checking out the PS4 games again, when he spots Kyungsoo in the Nintendo section. He's still with a customer, so Chanyeol waits an aisle over. He pretends to be interested in some discount PS3 titles, biting his lip to keep from grinning at Kyungsoo's friendly customer service voice.

"This one is good," he hears him say, and watches him pick up a bright blue WiiU case. "Nintendo's great at all-ages stuff, plus it's for up to eight players." Chanyeol sneaks a glance at the game when Kyungsoo hands it over, and is pleasantly surprised to see the _Super Smash Bros_ logo. "My friends and I played it over the weekend, actually. It's a lot of fun."

Chanyeol has to turn away before someone catches him beaming like an idiot.

When Kyungsoo passes by on the way to the front counter, Chanyeol gets him attention with a little wave, making him pause between the aisles. "Hey, I didn't realize you were here already," he says, smiling at him - it's a lot different from his customer service smile, and Chanyeol lets himself feel a little smug about it before he remembers Minseok's knowing look. "I'll be a few more minutes. Sorry for making you wait."

"Not a problem," Chanyeol says, pushing his thoughts away and making himself smile back. "It's more like the opposite of a problem. Really."

Kyungsoo gives him a weird look but heads for the counter again, and Chanyeol busies himself with reading the back of every PS3 case in the section until he's sure he can trust himself to make real sentences again. By the time he looks up, Kyungsoo is on his way over with his Yoshi lanyard gone and his backpack slung over one shoulder. With a quick wave to Minseok, they head out to Chanyeol's car.

Chanyeol is decidedly less nervous about letting Kyungsoo into his apartment this time. He watches him kick off his shoes and immediately head for the TV, taking a moment to be pleased about how natural it looks before following him over. He points out the stack of two-player games and Kyungsoo shuffles through them for a few minutes while Chanyeol turns the PS4 on and gets comfortable on the couch, trying his best not to stare.

After placing _Shovel Knight_ at the top of the stack, Kyungsoo hums and turns around to look through the rest of the games in Chanyeol's cabinet - because of _course_ he does, after all Chanyeol's effort, but Chanyeol can't bring himself to feel annoyed.

"What's _Until Dawn_?" Kyungsoo asks, pulling one box off the shelves and turning it over in his hands. "I like the cover art."

"It's a horror game. Kind of choose-your-own-adventure," Chanyeol explains, giving him a wary look when he opens it and pops the disk out. "Are you sure? It isn't multiplayer."

"That's fine, I can watch." Kyungsoo swaps the disks in the PS4, glancing at Chanyeol when he turns to replace the _Mass Effect_ disk in its case. "Or I can play and you can watch, if you're scared."

"I'm not scared," Chanyeol says, snatching up the controller determinedly, but at the menu screen he blanches a little. Kyungsoo settles down next to him on the couch with an expectant look. "But," Chanyeol adds belatedly, "if you wanted to play, I could pretend."

Kyungsoo snorts and takes the controller. "How about you find a walkthrough that tells you where all the jumpscares are, and when I die we'll switch?"

" _If_ you die," Chanyeol corrects, digging around for his phone. "I think you'll be okay until chapter four or so, that's where the potential dying starts."

"No spoilers," Kyungsoo scolds before starting a new game.

They're silent for the opening cutscene, Kyungsoo watching the screen intently and Chanyeol watching Kyungsoo, until the real gameplay starts and Kyungsoo breaks his concentration by twirling the joystick to run in circles. "There's no punch button in this game, is there?" he asks.

"No, the controls are pretty simple," Chanyeol assures him. "It's basically 'walk around and press X'."

"Okay, good." He pushes up his glasses while another short cutscene plays. "So this is like _Friday the 13th_? Horny teens getting murdered?"

Chanyeol considers it. "That's... technically a spoiler? It _can_ be like that, depending on how you play."

Kyungsoo hums. "Well, the only game I can say I was ever good at in any capacity was _Galaga_."

"You had _Galaga_?" Chanyeol laughs. "Like for NES?"

"Yeah, when I was a kid. Too bad we don't sell retro stuff at work, it's probably the only game I have real experience with."

"That and _Smash Bros_ ," Chanyeol says with a sly grin. "Your customer service voice is great, by the way."

Kyungsoo pouts, shoving him gently. "I was hoping you arrived too late to hear any of that."

"Your secret is safe with me," Chanyeol promises, miming crossing his heart.

"It better be," Kyungsoo says, rolling his eyes, but he smiles as he turns back to the screen. "Speaking of work, why was Minseok trying to stare you down over the counter when we left?"

"Was he?" Chanyeol tries to remember, but comes up with nothing. He had probably been too distracted by Kyungsoo to notice. "I don't know, but when I first came in he asked if I was waiting for you."

"He's so nosy," Kyungsoo sighs, shaking his head. "Our store is one of the slower locations where nothing interesting ever happens, so everyone on staff lives for whatever gossip they can get."

Chanyeol snickers. "Everyone except you, right?" he asks amusedly.

Kyungsoo gives him a playful glare. "Of course."

On the TV, Kyungsoo's character starts to run through the dark, snowy woods. Chanyeol opens his mouth to explain quick-time events only to shut it when Kyungsoo nails the first one easily, and makes the rest look effortless. He waits until the running sequence is over before letting his curiosity out from where it's been curled up in his chest.

"Uh, there is something he mentioned-- it's not a big deal, but..." He swallows hard and forces the words out. "Do people really hit on you all the time?"

"Ugh, you heard that from Minseok?" Chanyeol nods sheepishly, and Kyungsoo huffs in annoyance. "Okay, it's not _all_ the time. Maybe a couple times a week, and I can handle it. Why was he telling you that, anyway?"

Chanyeol shrugs, trying not to fidget. "I don't know, I think he wanted to like, ask my intentions...? Towards you?" He cringes as soon as he says it, and continues quickly before Kyungsoo can interject. "He just wanted to make sure I wasn't some creep bugging you at work."

" _Ugh_ ," Kyungsoo groans again. "I'm sorry, he should have more tact than that."

"It's okay," Chanyeol insists, "I mean, for all he knows I really could be a creep, so..."

He trails off uncomfortably when Kyungsoo pauses the game and turns to look at him. "You're not, though. Is that-- are you seriously worried that I think you're like that?"

"Not really, but-- I do show up at your store a lot, and--"

"Because you're a customer," Kyungsoo deadpans. "That's what customers do. Besides, we didn't even meet at the store."

Chanyeol snorts. "Yeah, we met on the bus. Even better."

Narrowing his eyes, Kyungsoo puts the controller down and gives him a serious look. "Listen, if I wasn't interested in talking to you, I wouldn't have talked to you. I'm not leading you on just to laugh about it with my coworkers when you leave, or whatever."

Chanyeol knew that, _knows_ he knew that, but it's still a relief to hear spoken out loud. He sags a little, giving a shy nod and ducking his head to hide his embarrassed flush. Kyungsoo doesn't pick up the controller yet, though.

"Seriously, Chanyeol. I like hanging out with you," he says, quiet and sincere. "I wouldn't be here voluntarily playing a horror game if I didn't."

"We can switch if you're scared," Chanyeol teases, and gets a playful shove in return as Kyungsoo snatches the controller away.

"How many chapters does this game have?" he asks, pushing up his glasses again.

"Ten. It takes about eight or nine hours to finish."

Kyungsoo hums. "So we could finish by--" He squints at the clock on the wall. "--two A.M?"

He seems to be waiting for a real answer, so Chanyeol nods slowly. "I mean, potentially, yeah."

"I don't work tomorrow," Kyungsoo says with a shrug, and unpauses.

Chanyeol laughs and settles in to watch, grabbing his phone again. "I guess I'll order pizza."

\--

He's pulled enough all-nighters at the dorm to be mostly unfazed by going to bed at an absurdly early time of the morning after dropping Kyungsoo off at home, and wakes up before noon with more of a bread-and-cheese hangover than anything else. Still, Chanyeol is just tired enough to let his guard down during a groggy phone call with Jongdae, and the next thing he knows, he's babysitting Jongdae's tweenage brother for the afternoon while he and Junmyeon are at work.

Jongin is the most low-maintenance fourteen-year-old Chanyeol has ever met, though, so 'babysitting' usually doesn't involve much more than sitting on the couch with him and making sure his 3DS is charged enough to play a couple hours of _Animal Crossing_.

Today seems to be true to form. Jongin's in-game town is beautiful, covered in fruit trees and flowers. Chanyeol spares a thought for his own weed-filled town as his avatar follows Jongin's out of the train station and over a red brick bridge. "Hey, you didn't have this the last time we played."

"Yeah, it took forever for my villagers to ask for it," Jongin says with a nod. "There's a fountain too, and streetlamps."

Chanyeol whistles. "You've been busy."

Jongin smiles proudly for a moment before focusing back on the game. "You should see Sehun's town. He got rid of all his flowers except black ones. I was catching beetles for like, an _hour_ while he dug them all up."

"Man, I'm barely patient enough to find a matching rug and wallpaper," Chanyeol sighs.

"But you spend hours and hours trying to up your skill rank in _Overwatch_."

Chanyeol gives him a half-hearted glare. "Touché. Has Jongdae been making you watch him play competitive matches?"

In response, Jongin taps his screen and his avatar makes an annoyed face. "Okay, touchy subject," Chanyeol laughs, tapping his own screen to bring up the town map. "Aren't you like, three sharks away from completing your fish encyclopedia? Let's find the beach."

Jongin nods and takes off through town. Chanyeol follows behind, being careful not to tread on any flower patches, and joins him on the sandy strip of beach at the edge of the map. Jongin's avatar wanders back and forth for a few seconds before picking a spot to cast his fishing rod.

Chanyeol is about to follow suit when Jongin speaks up, sounding somewhat timid. "Hey, Chanyeol?"

When he glances over, Jongin's eyes are fixed on his 3DS, and his avatar is tapping its chin in thought. Chanyeol tries to tamp down on his immediate apprehension. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Jongdae says you have a boyfriend."

"What?" Chanyeol forces a laugh, half outraged and half relieved - at least he's not asking about The Talk, or something. He equips his fishing rod and casts a line towards a fish-shaped blur in the water. "I think if I did, I'd know."

Jongin shrugs. His avatar spins around as he swaps its frog hat for a scuba helmet. "He says you get all lovey-dovey about this glasses."

Chanyeol pulls his fishing rod back too soon, and the fish swims away. "I do not."

"So who's Kyungsoo?"

"Kyungsoo is-- he's a friend," Chanyeol says, as casually as he can manage.

Jongin gives him a suspicious look. "Does he have glasses?"

"Yes, but--" His phone buzzes then, and Chanyeol cuts himself off to dig it out of his pocket, grateful for the distraction - but it's a text from Kyungsoo, which doesn't help his case. He tries his best to keep his expression neutral as he opens the message.

 _[from.kyungsoo] 1:48_  
> sorry i took so long to reply, i just woke up  
> maybe staying up until 2 wasnt the best idea :P  
> are you busy tomorrow? i swapped my closing shift with yixing's open

It doesn't work, clearly. "Your face is all red," Jongin points out helpfully.

"I thought you were supposed to be catching sharks," Chanyeol shoots back, and Jongin sticks his tongue out at him.

 _[from.chanyeol] 1:49_  
> im not busy :D when r u off?

 _[from.kyungsoo] 1:49_  
> 5\. i'll buy dinner to pay you back for pizza  
> and maybe we can try shovel knight :)

 _it's a date_ , Chanyeol types, then deletes it, feeling his face flush even darker.

"Jongdae also said you're bad at lying."

"Your brother is a bad influence," Chanyeol grumbles, tapping out a less-incriminating affirmation before shoving his phone back in his pocket and casting his fishing line out with renewed fervour.

\--

Kyungsoo is already outside the store when Chanyeol drives up the next evening. Waving at him, Chanyeol bypasses the crowded parking lot and pulls over, leaning across the console to unlock the passenger side door so Kyungsoo can hop inside.

"Busy day?" Chanyeol asks, glancing at Kyungsoo as he clicks his seatbelt into place and lets out a long sigh.

Kyungsoo nods, leaning back and pushing up his glasses to rub his eyes. "Usually summer is slow but sometimes it's hectic for no reason. And no one knows how to read signs."

"At least you're not closing," Chanyeol says, then notices the Gamestop bag between Kyungsoo's feet. "You bought something?"

"Oh, yeah," Kyungsoo says, like he'd forgotten about it. He reaches into the bag and pulls out a blue-edged game case. "It was on sale."

Chanyeol reads the cover and raises his eyebrows. "Bloodborne?"

"I've been looking at it for a while," Kyungsoo says, turning the case over. "I want to try it out."

"What happened to not spending your paycheques at your own store?" Chanyeol teases, and Kyungsoo gives him a playful glare.

"It's not like I dropped 400 dollars on my own PS4," he says, sliding the game back into the bag. 

On one hand, Kyungsoo bought a game for himself to play on Chanyeol's PS4, and Chanyeol is endeared - but on the other hand, it's _Bloodborne_ , of all things.

"You've heard about how hard it is, right?" he asks. "Baekhyun and I tried it once and didn't get very far. I don't think I've ever died that many times in any game, ever. And Baek got so mad we had to turn it off and give it to Jongdae."

Kyungsoo just shrugs. "I guess we'll see."

Before Chanyeol can warn him any further, he starts giving directions to the Thai restaurant he's decided they're getting dinner from, and then Chanyeol is distracted with trying to convince Kyungsoo to let him pay for half, which lasts until Kyungsoo throws Chanyeol's wallet into the backseat and pays for it himself.

The smell wafting from their takeout bags spurs Chanyeol into speeding just a little on the way back to his apartment. When they get inside, he leaves Kyungsoo to start up _Shovel Knight_ while he finds plates and glasses, and they sit on the floor in front of the coffee table eating bites in between 8-bit platforms. Kyungsoo picks it up quickly and is way better at not accidentally sending his knight leaping to his death than Chanyeol is.

They get through a few levels together before Chanyeol insists on doing the dishes, and shows Kyungsoo how to get to single-player mode from the menu. Instead, Kyungsoo gets up and comes back with _Bloodborne_ , looking excited enough about it that Chanyeol doesn't bother trying to warn him off it. He gathers up their plates while Kyungsoo installs the game - Chanyeol tries not to show how ridiculously pleased it makes him that Kyungsoo is using _his_ system for this - and watches the screen intently as it starts up.

Washing the dishes doesn't take long, but Chanyeol takes his time cleaning up the rest of the kitchen, wanting to give Kyungsoo some time to play without him hovering around. He finds one of the last boxes he's been procrastinating on unpacking and gets to work, letting his mind wander when he hears faint sound effects from the other room. It's nice to think about Kyungsoo being comfortable enough in Chanyeol's home to buy games with the intention of playing them on his couch, content enough to be left alone to do things by himself. It feels… domestic? 

Chanyeol blushes when he thinks about it that way, so he makes himself focus on hanging up the last of the clothes in the box before checking the clock. His unpacking took a little longer than he thought it would and it's getting late. He heads back to the living room, meaning to apologize, but pauses in the doorway when he sees Kyungsoo. He's taken off his glasses, leaning forward a little with an expression of determination and focus. Chanyeol shuts his mouth and joins him on the couch.

Kyungsoo barely glances at him when he sits down, which is just as well because Chanyeol can't stop staring at him. Watching Kyungsoo be so focused on something so important to Chanyeol, something he said he had no interest in only a couple weeks ago, lights up something in Chanyeol's chest that's been growing over the past few days with him.

Looks like it wasn't only Kyungsoo's glasses he was lovey-dovey about after all. He turns away then, searching for something to talk about to drown out the rushing in his ears. "You're already at the first boss?" he asks, watching Kyungsoo's character jump and roll around the beast onscreen. "You're getting close to where Baekhyun and I quit, then. I think we died at least a few times each on this battle alone. I didn't hear any yelling in the other room, so you must be doing pretty well."

Kyungsoo just hums, not taking his eyes off the screen. Chanyeol knows he's rambling, but it's easier than sitting quietly and waiting for this _feeling_ to burst through his chest. "It's hard, though, right? I can't remember if it's supposed to be easier or harder than _Dark Souls_. I'm not great at that one either, but I think there's a boss sort of like this one in some of the DLC? Wow, you're almost out of blood vials, I hope you--"

"Got it," Kyungsoo says suddenly, cutting Chanyeol off mid-babble.

 _PREY SLAUGHTERED_ , the screen reads, as the boss crumbles into smoke. Kyungsoo's character punches the air as his 4000 blood echoes ring up.

Kyungsoo puts the controller down and leans back, ending up much closer than Chanyeol is prepared for when he turns to look at him. "What does 'new high score' mean?" he asks innocently, but his barely-concealed grin gives him away.

Chanyeol leans across the couch and kisses it off his face.

He pulls away after a second, shocked by his own actions. Kyungsoo seems surprised as well, but only for a moment.

"Huh," he says, then leans back in.

"What?" Chanyeol yelps, startling them both. "What are you doing, I just-- I just--"

"Kissed me, yeah," Kyungsoo says, nodding slowly, "and now I'm kissing you." He pauses though, searching Chanyeol's face. "If you want me to, I mean."

"I do," Chanyeol says quickly - that much he's sure of, at least. "I was just. I was worried you wouldn't want-- that you wouldn't be--" He cuts himself off rather lamely, ducking his head.

Kyungsoo snickers, reaching up to touch his cheek. "How can I convince you to stop worrying about me not liking you?" He leans in again, giving Chanyeol a soft kiss that he just barely stops himself from chasing.

"Do that again," he says, then immediately flushes pink. "I mean, I can't say for sure if it'll, you know, convince me, but it might be worth a--"

Kyungsoo cuts him off again, and Chanyeol makes sure to follow the slide of Kyungsoo's lips with his own. Kissing him, it turns out, is even easier than rambling.

The next time they break apart, Kyungsoo holds up a hand and grabs his phone off the coffee table. He quickly types something before tossing it back on the table and leaning in again. Chanyeol meets him halfway, huffing out a laugh against his mouth.

"What was that?" he asks, tipping his head back when Kyungsoo noses at his jaw. "Live-texting this to someone?"

"I was letting my roommate know I won't be home tonight," Kyungsoo says, pulling back with a smile. He cups one hand around the back of Chanyeol's neck, tugging him along as he leans back against the cushions. "Where were we?"

Chanyeol swallows hard. It wouldn't be the first time Kyungsoo has spent the night - or part of it, at least - but it's the first time he's looking up at Chanyeol like this, and the first time he's pawing at the hem of Chanyeol's shirt, the first time he's dragging his fingers through the hairs on his nape--

"Is it, uh," Chanyeol starts, and falters when Kyungsoo tightens his grip. "Is it presumptuous to mention that I have a bed?"

"A little, yeah."

"Okay. It's just that my bed is a lot more comfortable than this couch."

Kyungsoo pulls back to think it over, then shrugs. "Fair point."

He tugs Chanyeol with him as he stands up, but Chanyeol hesitates, pulling him back. "W-wait."

Looking only a little exasperated, Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at him. "I can spell out that I'm serious about this, if you want it in writing."

Chanyeol snorts. "No, it's not that, it's-- you should save your game."

Kyungsoo follows his gaze to the TV where _Bloodborne_ is still on, his character just standing around in the empty boss chamber. He shakes his head with a smile. "You have strange priorities."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chanyeol laughs as Kyungsoo picks up the controller from where he'd dropped it on the floor.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Game saved, Kyungsoo flicks through the settings to turn the PS4 off and turns back to Chanyeol with his hands held out. "Alright, lead the way."

Chanyeol does, trying his best not to drag him down the hall, both of them stifling each other's laughter the whole way.

\--

When he rolls over in bed the next morning, Chanyeol has a moment of panic when he realizes Kyungsoo isn't under the covers with him. His jeans are still lying on Chanyeol's floor, however, and there's faint music coming from another room, so Chanyeol sighs out his relief and gets up to investigate.

He finds Kyungsoo curled up on the couch, glasses back on and hair messy from Chanyeol's pillows. He's wearing just the boxers he slept in and a hoodie he must've stolen from Chanyeol's closet - it's practically hanging off him, but he's rolled up the sleeves to hold the PS4 controller while he swings an axe through a crowd of enemies on the TV screen. Chanyeol feels fondness swell in his chest, and pinches himself just to be safe. To his relief, Kyungsoo stays where he is, and Chanyeol smiles as he heads over.

"More _Bloodborne_?" he asks around a yawn.

Kyungsoo looks up at him with an apologetic grin. "Sorry. I wanted to stay in bed, but it was calling to me."

"It's okay. You, uh, got cut short last night," Chanyeol says, faltering a little when he thinks about what they'd been doing the last time they were on the couch together.

Kyungsoo smirks at him and reaches up to beckon him in for a kiss. Chanyeol stifles another relieved sigh - some part of him had still been worried the night before was a dream and Kyungsoo was wearing his clothes for some unrelated reason, but now he's fairly certain it was real.

Humming against his mouth, Kyungsoo pulls back with a smile. Chanyeol raises his eyebrows in confusion, but can't help smiling back. "What?"

"I just remembered something from work yesterday. Minseok was telling me how he and Yixing started a staff betting pool about when they thought we'd get together."

"Really?" Chanyeol feels a blush rising in his cheeks, unsure if he's embarrassed or proud.

Kyungsoo nods, a similar expression on his face. "Yeah, I think his bet was one month, Yixing's was four… Our manager put twenty bucks on next week." He shakes his head with a snicker. "I was annoyed at first, but I forgot about it as soon as you picked me up."

Chanyeol blushes deeper. "Oh."

"I'm a little upset, though," Kyungsoo says, leaning back with a sigh. "If I'd known we would figure it out so quickly, I could've cleaned them all out."

Laughing, Chanyeol rolls his eyes at him. "Well, I'm sorry I didn't let you know in advance when I was going to make a move."

"It's fine, I like the way things turned out," Kyungsoo says, bumping their shoulders together. "I'm looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces when I go into work later and tell them we're dating now. I'll try to get pictures for you."

"Cool," Chanyeol says, and swallows. "Is, uh. Is that what we're doing, dating?"

Kyungsoo turns to him, eyebrows raised. "I mean, unless you want to call it something else…?"

"No," Chanyeol says quickly. "Dating is-- dating is fine." That sure is a thought. He's dating Kyungsoo.

He's distracted from it when Kyungsoo kisses him again, smiling against his lips. Chanyeol presses back enthusiastically, familiar giddiness spurring him on until Kyungsoo is pressed against the arm of the couch, controller dangling from his fingers as Chanyeol licks into his mouth.

Kyungsoo is almost gasping by the time they break apart for air, breath hitching when Chanyeol's teeth graze his lip. "Ah, okay, can we--" He gives Chanyeol's shoulder a gentle push and Chanyeol pulls back, confused until he follows Kyungsoo's gaze to the TV, where Bloodborne is still on.

"You're gonna make me walk off a cliff, and if I don't find a lantern soon I'll lose all my blood echoes," Kyungsoo explains breathlessly, pushing up his glasses where they've slipped down his nose.

"I've created a monster," Chanyeol groans, but obediently unwinds himself from around Kyungsoo and folds his hands in his lap. "I wish you'd given me time to kiss my PS4 goodbye before you started."

"You can have it back when I level up," Kyungsoo soothes. He leans over to kiss him one more time for good measure before turning back to the screen.

Chanyeol settles back against the couch with a pained sigh, but he can't keep the smile off his face. Custody of his PS4 is a small price to pay to keep Kyungsoo around, really - and besides, he muses, sneaking one arm over the back of the couch to brush against Kyungsoo's nape, he's already thinking about ways to reward Kyungsoo for finishing the game.

For now he watches Kyungsoo lean back into his touch, even as his character on screen mows down a horde of corpses, and feels content. His own games can definitely wait if this is what he gets to do instead.

**Author's Note:**

> > the return of background married suchen  
> > i feel bad that sehun is only mentioned but in this au he and jongin are 9th grade bffs who hang out in the library playing animal crossing  
> > also it wasnt mentioned but minseok is constantly covered in cat hair bc he and luhan have cats. yes its also return of the background married xiuhan
> 
> also Here Are The Games in order of appearance i think:  
> [Overwatch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEYp1RTvllM) (tfw ur seriously considering paying $70 for psn membership just to play 1 game..... i love u overwatch.....)  
> [COD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KXrm4oYIoE) (call of duty is The Worste)  
> [Mass Effect Andromeda](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6PJEmEHIaY) (ive never played this but one of my coworkers Would Die for it)  
> [Destiny 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdWkpbPTpmE) (¯\\_(ツ)_/¯)  
> [Zelda BOTW](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rPxiXXxftE) (they dont talk abt this game but its what the amiibos are from)  
> Pokemon im not gonna bother bc im 100% sure u know what pokemon is  
> [Fire Emblem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7CKYVgVuO0) (its hard to find a trailer that makes fire emblem look cool so just trust me on this)  
> [Super Smash Bros](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvudMu-5kIU) (just. the best)  
> [League of Legends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzMnCv_lPxI) (i know nothing abt this game either but its like Stupid Popular)  
> [Portal 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A88YiZdXugA) (prob one of the best co-op games of all time (of all time!))  
> [Shovel Knight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo-uuawy9Ok) (i love this game but im not good at it so sad lyf)  
> [Until Dawn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT2HtIEUXuk) (i love and would die for this game)  
> [Galaga](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYXVtQYzOxg) (Old As Balls)  
> [Animal Crossing: New Leaf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z09iRo44Mcs) (the greatest game of all time)  
> [Bloodborne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTDvYvlyPaE) (spooky scary skeletons)  
> [Dark Souls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6xaY64GNfs) (similar to bloodborne but less scary)
> 
> thank u for reading! @ me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/kkumayeol) if u want to scream abt chansoo or animal crossing


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